"Rachel came home bragging saying that during the limo ride to N.Y., Mrs. Inglesino gave all the girls wine coolers to drink."

When Rachel Canning couldn’t get along with her parents any longer, she left and moved in with the family of her best friend.

Now, the attorney who is providing a home to the 18-year-old Morris County woman suing her parents for support and tuition has himself become a focal point in the soap opera-like story, which has included claims of underage drinking, charges of abuse and angry recriminations between the parents and their child over her behavior.

In legal papers filed in a case that has garnered worldwide attention, Canning’s mother and father claim that John Inglesino, whose daughter is a classmate and friend of Rachel, allowed alcoholic parties and made a bad situation even worse.

They also accused Inglesino of subsidizing their daughter’s lawsuit against them, "rather than providing responsible guidance in abiding by a parent’s rules"

Inglesino has acknowledged helping underwrite Rachel’s legal bills.

In a sworn statement, Sean Canning said his daughter’s first experience with alcohol was at the Inglesino house. "Rachel came home bragging saying that during the limo ride to N.Y., Mrs. Inglesino gave all the girls wine coolers to drink. This type of behavior we did not condone."

He said had the Inglesino family not "enabled this situation to an absurd level, Rachel may have actually learned a life lesson and returned home and kept our family whole. Instead, the Inglesino family has made a difficult situation horrible and broken apart a family. Under the guise of good intentions, they have arrogantly placed themselves in our stead an operated under the belief that their parenting style is somehow superior to our own."

Her mother, Elizabeth Canning, said in an accompanying sworn statement that her daughter’s move to the Inglesino’s home was a private matter purely between her and the Inglesinos, but charged that "the Inglesinos, while purporting to help, have actually been a tremendous hindrance in family healing."

Inglesino, a well-connected attorney and former freeholder in Morris County, did not respond to calls for comment. A woman who identified herself as his eldest daughter declined comment. But in a certification submitted as part of Canning’s lawsuit, Inglesino said he and his wife invited the troubled young woman to stay in their house because his daughter Jaime "wanted to help her friend." He called Rachel extremely intelligent.

"My wife and I remain mystified as to how the Cannings, or any other parent, could simply decide to disavow themselves of their daughter and abandon her in her senior year of high school — particularly a daughter such as Rachel," Inglesino said in the court papers. He noted that Rachel has been accepted at several colleges.

Inglesino said he and his wife decided to help Rachel with her lawsuit "because she is a terrific, extremely bright young lady who is committed to her future. Rachel will be a contributing member to our society and I believe she deserves an opportunity to realize her goals and her potential."

Canning moved into the Inglesino home in Rockaway Township in late October, just before her 18th birthday, after her parents said they would no longer support her financially if she didn’t break up with her boyfriend and follow their rules. Instead, she went to court to force her parents to pay her child support, her private school tuition, medical and related bills, college expenses and legal fees.

A judge this week refused to issue an emergency order for support, saying that it would represent a new way of interpreting the law. "A kid could move out and then sue for an XBox, an iPhone or a 60-inch television," said Family Division Judge Peter Bogaard.

Inglesino was in court during the hearing, as was his daughter.

Named one of the Top 100 "powerful people" in New Jersey by Politicker NJ for 2013, Inglesino is an ally and financial contributor to Gov. Chris Christie, and served as a freeholder from 2001 to 2007. Appointed by the governor to the state’s Education Funding Task Force, he serves as township attorney for Parsippany, the planning board attorney for Morristown and Florham Park, and special counsel to Lopatcong and Rahway.

The 50-year-old attorney has been embroiled in his share of controversies in Parsippany, including an ongoing feud with council president Paul Carifi Jr., who sought his removal as township attorney in January due to an alleged conflict of interest with several members of the township council.

Inglesino has called Carifi’s allegations "absurd."

Former freeholder Jack Schrier, who served on the board with Inglesino and ran on a ticket with him, called him "a very smart guy. He was very helpful to the county on a number of issues."